How times have changed, from Taming of the Shrew to High Fidelity
When Shakespeare penned Taming of the Shrew, marriage was not only a religious ceremony but a commercial transaction. Women were treated as commodities, and a man could receive a large sum of money by marrying a wealthy man's daughter. Such is the premise of Taming of the Shrew, where the loud and boisterous Petruchio seeks to "wive it wealthily" by marrying a nobleman's daughter, Katherine. Katherine is bold, outspoken, and rude, with no desire to marry. Nevertheless, with enough scheming and arm-twisting Petruchio is able to force her into marrying him. Once wed, he "tames" her by depriving her of food and sleep until she realizes that it is in her best interests to submit to him.
In High Fidelity, audiophile Rob Gordon is left by his girlfriend, Laura. Disheartened, he revisits his previous romantic relationships to determine where he went wrong. add
Though elements of Shakespeare's comedy remain familiar, Stephen Frears's movie High Fidelity shows how much our ideas and expectations of/ courtship have changed. In Taming of the Shrew, courtship is brief and impersonal, an orientation on the opposite sex prior to marriage. For Rob and Laura however, it is a long and intimate process, full of earnest discussion and tortured introspection. Rob and Petruchio are both suitors, but their approaches to courtship are strikingly different. Petruchio beats Katherine into submission. He describes his intentions:
She eat no meat to-day, nor none shall eat;
Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not
[...]
This is a way to kill a wife with kindness;
And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humour.
He that knows better how to tame a shrew,
Now let him speak: 'tis charity to show.
(Act IV, Scene ii, 185-199)
Petruchio makes no attempt to win Katherine's affection, and he has no genuine affection for her. When the two marry, they are still strangers to each other.
Rob, on the other hand, thinks that love is crucial to a relationship. He defines himself by his interests, and peruses women who have similar interests. While wooing a woman he meets at a bar, he says to the camera, "What really matters is what you like, not what you ARE like. Books, records, films, these things matter! Call me shallow, but it's the fuckin' truth." He later goes on to say that he met his ex girlfriend, Laura, when she told him she liked a record he was playing as a DJ. He /initiated/ their relationship by making her a mixtape. He pursues women with similar interests, rather than large dowries. Money is not the issue.
In the final act, Katherine decides she is tired of fighting Petruchio, and vows to serve him. She declares:
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace
Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love and obey.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
(Act V, Scene ii, 173-180)
When it becomes apparent that fighting Petruchio is ineffective, she realizes that it is more prudent to comply.
In High Fidelity, however, a similar scenario plays out much differently. After putting much effort into convincing Laura to return to him, Rob proposes to her. Laura appreciates the sentiment, but declines. Rob accepts this. For the two, marriage is not about control or servitude. Rather, it is a romantic rite of passage, more symbolic than practical.
Killing a Wife with Kindness
How times have changed, from Taming of the Shrew to High Fidelity
When Shakespeare penned Taming of the Shrew, marriage was not only a religious ceremony but a commercial transaction. Women were treated as commodities, and a man could receive a large sum of money by marrying a wealthy man's daughter. Such is the premise of Taming of the Shrew, where the loud and boisterous Petruchio seeks to "wive it wealthily" by marrying a nobleman's daughter, Katherine. Katherine is bold, outspoken, and rude, with no desire to marry. Nevertheless, with enough scheming and arm-twisting Petruchio is able to force her into marrying him. Once wed, he "tames" her by depriving her of food and sleep until she realizes that it is in her best interests to submit to him.
In High Fidelity, audiophile Rob Gordon is left by his girlfriend, Laura. Disheartened, he revisits his previous romantic relationships to determine where he went wrong. add
Though elements of Shakespeare's comedy remain familiar, Stephen Frears's movie High Fidelity shows how much our ideas and expectations of/ courtship have changed. In Taming of the Shrew, courtship is brief and impersonal, an orientation on the opposite sex prior to marriage. For Rob and Laura however, it is a long and intimate process, full of earnest discussion and tortured introspection. Rob and Petruchio are both suitors, but their approaches to courtship are strikingly different. Petruchio beats Katherine into submission. He describes his intentions:
She eat no meat to-day, nor none shall eat;
Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not
[...]This is a way to kill a wife with kindness;
And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humour.
He that knows better how to tame a shrew,
Now let him speak: 'tis charity to show.
(Act IV, Scene ii, 185-199)Petruchio makes no attempt to win Katherine's affection, and he has no genuine affection for her. When the two marry, they are still strangers to each other.
Rob, on the other hand, thinks that love is crucial to a relationship. He defines himself by his interests, and peruses women who have similar interests. While wooing a woman he meets at a bar, he says to the camera, "What really matters is what you like, not what you ARE like. Books, records, films, these things matter! Call me shallow, but it's the fuckin' truth." He later goes on to say that he met his ex girlfriend, Laura, when she told him she liked a record he was playing as a DJ. He /initiated/ their relationship by making her a mixtape. He pursues women with similar interests, rather than large dowries. Money is not the issue.
In the final act, Katherine decides she is tired of fighting Petruchio, and vows to serve him. She declares:
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace
Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love and obey.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
(Act V, Scene ii, 173-180)When it becomes apparent that fighting Petruchio is ineffective, she realizes that it is more prudent to comply.
In High Fidelity, however, a similar scenario plays out much differently. After putting much effort into convincing Laura to return to him, Rob proposes to her. Laura appreciates the sentiment, but declines. Rob accepts this. For the two, marriage is not about control or servitude. Rather, it is a romantic rite of passage, more symbolic than practical.